Like_a_Rock
Like a Rock
1986 studio album by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Like a Rock is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Seger, released in 1986. The title track is best known for being featured in Chevrolet truck commercials throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
| Like a Rock | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 14, 1986 | |||
| Studio | [1] | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 43:55 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Punch Andrews, David N. Cole, Bob Seger | |||
| Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Like a Rock | ||||
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"Fortunate Son" is a live cover of the 1969 Creedence Clearwater Revival hit, recorded March 31, 1983 at Cobo Hall in Detroit. It was originally available only as the B-side of the "American Storm" single, and was added as a bonus track to the CD release of the album. The vinyl version ends with "Somewhere Tonight". The song "Miami" is featured in an episode of the TV series Miami Vice.
Seger said of "The Ring":
I’ll tell you a song that Don Henley really likes of mine and nobody ever played it on the radio. When I played it for him it knocked him out. It’s a song called "The Ring." I think it’s on my album Like A Rock. It’s a six- minute ballad and it deals with a specific subject matter about a failing marriage out in a rural area and the restlessness that is setting in. The marriage has gone to pot and the ring doesn’t mean anything any more and they’re trying to hold it together. The characters are very sharply drawn. Nobody ever played it on the radio but I love it.[3]
Cash Box said of "It's You" that "This mid-tempo ballad has a mellow country inflection with the customary Seger rock edge."[4] Billboard called it a "subdued mid-tempo song" that "fairly begs for a country cover."[5]
Cash Box called "Miami" a "more relaxed, meldodic outing."[6] Billboard called it a "wistful boogie that contemplates the immigrant's dilemma."[7]
This is the first studio album credited to "Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band" that does not feature the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section replacing the Silver Bullet Band on any tracks.
The album was originally going to be named American Storm after the first track and was going to be released in December 1985, but it was delayed and the name was changed.[8]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "American Storm" | 4:17 | |
| 2. | "Like a Rock" | 5:56 | |
| 3. | "Miami" | 4:40 | |
| 4. | "The Ring" | 5:35 | |
| 5. | "Tightrope" | Craig Frost, Seger | 4:31 |
| 6. | "The Aftermath" | Frost, Seger | 3:30 |
| 7. | "Sometimes" | 3:31 | |
| 8. | "It's You" | 4:03 | |
| 9. | "Somewhere Tonight" | 4:25 | |
| 10. | "Fortunate Son" | John Fogerty | 3:20 |
All tracks are written by Bob Seger, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Shakedown" | 4:03 |
| 12. | "Blue Monday" | 2:23 |
As listed in the liner notes.[9]
- Bob Seger – guitar (1), piano (3), acoustic guitar (4), vocals (all tracks)
Silver Bullet Band
- Craig Frost – organ (1–4, 7), piano (4, 10), synthesizer (5, 6, 8, 9)
- Chris Campbell – bass (all tracks)
- Alto Reed – baritone saxophone (1, 7), tenor saxophone (3, 6), organ (10)
Additional musicians
Guitars
- Pete Carr – guitar (1)
- Dawayne Bailey – acoustic guitar (2), electric guitar (10)
- Rick Vito – slide guitar (2, 5, 6), acoustic guitar (3, 4)
- Fred Tackett – acoustic guitar (4, 9), guitar solo (7)
- Dann Huff – guitar (7)
- Mark Chatfield – electric guitar (10)
Drums and percussion
- Russ Kunkel – drums (1, 2)
- John Robinson – drums (3, 5–9)
- Gary Mallaber – drums (4)
- Don Brewer – drums (10)
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion (3, 6, 8)
Keyboards
- Bill Payne – piano (1, 2, 6–9), piano solo (8), synthesizer (3, 4, 8)
- David Cole – synthesizer solo (8)
Horns
- Gary Grant – trumpet (3)
- Gary Herbig – saxophone (3)
- Jerry Hey – trumpet (3, 6, 7)
- Kim Hutchcroft – saxophone (3, 7)
- Bill Reichenbach Jr. – trombone (3, 6, 7)
- Marc Russo – saxophone (3, 6, 7)
- Ernie Watts – saxophone (3, 6, 7)
Additional vocals
- Douglas Kibble – background vocals (2)
- The Weather Girls (Izora Armstead and Martha Wash) – background vocals (2, 5, 6)
- Don Henley – background vocals (3)
- Timothy B. Schmit – background vocals (3)
- Laura Creamer – background vocals (5, 6, 8, 9)
- Mark Creamer – background vocals (5, 6, 8, 9)
- Donny Gerrard – background vocals (5, 6, 8, 9)
- Shaun Murphy – vocals (5), background vocals (6, 9), harmony vocals (7, 8)
- Producers: Punch Andrews, David N. Cole, Bob Seger
- Engineers: David N. Cole, Greg Edward, Shelly Yakus
- Assistant engineers: David Axelbaum, Bob Castle, Judy Clapp, Peter Doell, Steve Himelfarb
- Mixing: Punch Andrews, David N. Cole, Bob Seger
- Mastering: Wally Traugott
- Horn arrangements: Jerry Hey, Alto Reed
- Art direction: Bill Burks, Roy Kohara
- Design: Mark Shoolery
- Photography: Aaron Rapoport
Album
Singles and tracks
| Year | Song title | Billboard chart | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "American Storm" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 2[11] |
| Hot 100 | 13[12] | ||
| "Fortunate Son" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9[13] | |
| "It's You" | Adult Contemporary | 22[14] | |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks | 8[15] | ||
| Hot 100 | 52[16] | ||
| "Like a Rock" | Adult Contemporary | 21[17] | |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1[18] | ||
| Hot 100 | 12[19] | ||
| "Miami" | Hot 100 | 70[20] | |
| "Tightrope" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 35[21] | |
| "The Aftermath" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9[22] | |
- Van Matre, Lynn (April 27, 1986). "Bob Seger: a new album, and a feeling of reflection". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
- Chrispell, James. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band: Like a Rock > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
- Sharp, Ken (September 10, 2018). "How Bob Seger changed the face of American Music". Classic Rock. Louder Sound. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
- "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. August 9, 1986. p. 9. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- "Single Releases" (PDF). Cash Box. November 8, 1986. p. 9. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- Like a Rock (CD). Bob Seger. Capitol Records. 1986. CDP 7 46195 2.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - "Bob Seger Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. May 23, 1986. Retrieved July 1, 2021.